Posts By: Stephanie Metzinger

WG Invites Members to Forbes AgTech Summit in July

The Second Annual Forbes AgTech Summit will bring together over 500 of the brightest minds, from global agriculture and Silicon Valley, to help tackle the world’s most critical challenges in agriculture. The event will showcase the latest innovations for growers, investors and stakeholders, as well as foster lively debate and generate rich networking opportunities. As ...

WG Members, Leaders Among Experts at Salinas Valley AgTech Summit

Western Growers had a strong presence at yesterday’s Third Annual Salinas Valley Agricultural Technology Summit, as WG members and staff led multiple panels and sessions throughout the day.  The Summit educated more than 500 ag and farm professionals about topics including crop protection, automation, harvest, innovation, worker safety and regulations through a series of presentations,…

DPR to Hold Two Meetings on Fumigation Notification Requirements in April

The Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) will be holding two workshops in April to gather input from stakeholders to help determine what notification is appropriate when field fumigation occurs. Western Growers has been vocal about the direction DPR is headed and will continue to express serious concerns on the issue. Western Growers’ members are encouraged ...

Specright’s Packaging Innovation Featured in Tech Talk at WGCIT – April 5

Western Growers’ members are invited to learn more about specright’s sophisticated system that will simplify packing specification needs. specright, one of 12 startups housed in the Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology (WGCIT), is a packaging-specification management company that offers a cloud-based platform where customers can input and manage data to ensure that their…

PRESS RELEASE: Western Growers Donates $1 Million to Bolster Food Safety Research, Marking $10 Million Milestone for Center for Produce Safety Campaign

WG challenges farm-to-fork industry partners to invest in food safety solutions with $1 million donation to Campaign for Produce Safety IRVINE, Calif. (March 10, 2016) – Western Growers (WG) has donated $1 million to the Center for Produce Safety (CPS) to advance food safety research and develop ready-to-use solutions to improve the safety of fresh produce ...

NEW MEDIA & AGRICULTURE: From Felfies to Agvocating, Agriculture Can Harvest Benefits of Social Media

In an era when one billion people are starting conversations on Facebook, 320 million people are checking the latest news on Twitter and 300 hours of new video are uploaded to YouTube every minute, social media is giving agriculture a voice and influence. The rapid development of social media platforms gives the specialty crop industry ...

WG INNOVATION CENTER: HeavyConnect Builds Technology Out of Farming

It all started with a “How to Start a Business in 6 Weeks” course.  After supporting product design development and deployment for different farm equipment manufacturers for more than a decade, Patrick Zelaya started to notice a trend. “Technologies that were being developed for the equipment weren’t solving major operational challenges for farmers,” he said. ...

Western Growers Donates $1 Million to Bolster Food Safety Research

Western Growers (WG) has donated $1 million to the Center for Produce Safety (CPS) to advance food safety research and develop ready-to-use solutions to improve the safety of fresh produce globally. WG’s contribution puts CPS over the $10 million mark for their Campaign for Produce Safety, which aims to raise $20 million by 2020 to ...

Amendments to California’s Anti-Harassment Laws, Anti-Discrimination Policies Effective April 1

New regulations under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), which  prohibit discrimination and harassment in the workplace based on race and gender, among other protected categories, will go into effect on April 1, 2016. Among other things, the new regulations add these new provisions to FEHA:    A requirement that businesses with five or ...

Western Growers Board of Directors Meet in Sacramento

Western Growers’ Board of Directors are meeting in Sacramento this week to discuss a variety of topics affecting the agriculture industry. Tomorrow, Western Growers Chairman Larry Cox will gavel the meeting to order and committee meetings will follow. The Board will cover issues such as water, labor, food safety, agtech, legislative proposals, trade, and transportation ...

Lunch & Learn on March 23 Highlights Nanotechnology Applications

Learn about nanotechnology applications related to the production, harvest and processing operations of specialty crops during this month’s Lunch & Learn webinar. Research on nanotechnology is continually evolving, and this webinar will highlight recent developments that hold promise for the fresh produce industry. Some examples of potential applications of this technology include disease…

Congressman Sam Farr Connects with Agtech Innovators at WGCIT

Congressman Sam Farr visited the Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology (WGCIT) last Thursday, where he had the opportunity to connect with agtech innovators and collaborate with Western Growers on ideas to further advance the ag industry. While touring the WGCIT, Farr, who represents California’s Central Coast, learned more about the 13 start-up companies ...

Burritos and Brainstorming Take Over Lunch at the WGCIT, Taylor Farms

Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology brought a little extra flavor to lunch last Friday with its first ever Burritos and Brainstorming luncheon. The event featured five Taylor Farm team members who spoke with the WGCIT resident startup companies about a variety of topics relating to agriculture and technology, while enjoying burritos for lunch. ...

Happy St. Patrick’s Day from Western Growers

With more than half of Americans celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, the traditional Irish dish “corned beef and cabbage” has been put in the spotlight. And that’s great news for leafy greens! There is a 70 percent increase in cabbage shipments during the week of St. Patrick’s Day. This contributes to the 2.3 billion pounds of ...

New Mandatory Organic Waste Recycling Requirements in California

As result of the enactment of Assembly Bill 1826, new Mandatory Organic Waste Recycling requirements will take effect in California on and after April 1, 2016. Organic Waste is defined in the bill as food waste, green waste, landscape and pruning waste, nonhazardous wood waste and food-soiled paper that is mixed in with food waste. ...

Get Ready, Set, Pitch!

Start-up companies from around the world will be competing in an agtech pitch competition today and tomorrow to earn a coveted spot in the THRIVE Accelerator Program. THRIVE Accelerator, which is hosted by SVG Partners and supported by sponsors such as Western Growers and Taylor Farms, is a highly-selective mentorship and investment program for agtech ...

Important: IRS 1095 Resources & Deadline Reminder

This is an important reminder that the deadline to mail the IRS form 1095 to covered employees is fast approaching. WGAT will mail a copy of the 1095-B to employees on behalf of employers with less than 50 full-time employees by the IRS deadline of March 31, 2016. In order to act, we need your ...

Regulatory Update and Action Needed on 1,3-D

The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) is in the process of updating restrictions and use limits for 1,3-D (e.g. Telone). For the last several years, DPR has undertaken an exhaustive scientific review of 1,3-D as part of DPR’s requirement to update conditions governing its use in California. We recently signed a letter urging DPR ...

March 23 — Lunch & Learn on Nanotechnology Applications

Learn about nanotechnology applications related to the production, harvest and processing operations of specialty crops during this month’s Lunch & Learn webinar. Research on nanotechnology is continually evolving, and this webinar will highlight recent developments that hold promise for the fresh produce industry. Some examples of potential applications of this technology include disease…

DPR Holding Workshops to Gather Input on Field Fumigation Notification Requirements

The Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) will be holding two workshops in April to gather input from stakeholders to help determine what notification is appropriate when field fumigation occurs. Western Growers has already and will continue to express serious concern with the direction DPR is headed on this issue. Western Growers’ members are encouraged to ...